The quick pair of goals spurred Big Green coach Bob Gaudet to make a change in net, swapping O’Neill for rookie James Mello.

“I wanted to get a little bit of a spark, a little change,” Gaudet explained. “James came in and did a good job for us, made a couple of really good saves for us…It didn’t work for us, necessarily, but again I thought our guys battled really hard.”

Harvard entered the third period with a two-goal advantage, but the final frame has been one in which the Crimson has struggled of late. This time, Harvard’s defense held up to the challenge.

“I thought we did the things we needed to do to make it tough for them to come back—stayed out of the box, we were good with the puck, and continued to get good offensive chances,” Donato said.

After Dartmouth pulled Mello with 3:03 to play in the game, the Crimson’s first line once again capitalized on its opportunity.

Killorn broke away toward the net, and though his attempt was broken up by a Big Green defender, he played the puck to a charging Biega, who put the puck into the empty net to extend the lead to 4-1.

Although Harvard’s offense put the game out of reach, the defense, backstopped by junior Ryan Carroll, gave the Crimson its second-consecutive win while being outshot by its opponent.

After watching most of the early season from the bench, Carroll made 37 saves in his second-straight start.

“I think Ryan played well again,” Donato said. “I think he looks very calm in net, doesn’t give up a lot of rebounds, plays the puck well.”

The win moves Harvard into eighth place in the ECAC as it prepares to travel to league-leading Union on Friday.

“We’re learning how to win hockey games,” Donato said. “With some confidence, with some wins, hopefully we’ll continue to improve, and by the end of the season we’ll put it all together.”

—Staff writer Kate Leist can be reached at kleist@fas.harvard.edu.